Automobile heater filter



April 29, 1941. A. w. LE FEVRE I AUTOMOBILE HEATER FILTER Filed Sept.26, 1938 Patented Apr. ,29, 1941 AUTOMOBILE HEATER FILTER Arden W. LeFevre, Chicago, IlL, assignor to Stewart-Warner Corporation, Chicago,111., a corporation of Virginia Application September 26, 1938, SerialNo. 231,765

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to automobile heater filter andthe like and more particularly to devices of the class described whichpurify the air circulated and supplied by them to the passengercompartment of a motor vehicle.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved heaterunit for automobiles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a filter element for airentering a heater which may be readily replaced.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device of theclass described wherein obnoxious and injurious fumes and gases areremoved from the air which is heated and circulated in the passengercompartment of an automobile.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved airconditioning system utilizing the fan motor of the heater all the yeararound for purifying the air circulated thereby in the passengercompartment of an automobile.

Another object of the invention is to provide filtering units for theair circulating system of an automobile passenger compartment whichfilters the replenishing air and the recirculated air independently ofeach other for circulation by the same circulating fan.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the classdescribed wherein the amount of replenishing air supplied to theinterior of a passenger compartment may be filtered and regulated inamount and mixed with filtered recirculated air for heating purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air circulating systemof the class described which is simple in construction and operation,effective in its use, and inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

These being among the objects of the invention, other and furtherobjects will become apparent from the drawing herein, the descriptionrelating thereto, and the appended claims.

Referring now. to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a heater illustrating apreferred embodiment of the invention wherein the filtering cartridge isFig. 5 is a section of another form of the sesimilar to Fig. 1 showing amod- I curing means employed to hold the filtering cartridge releasablyin place.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2of the drawing, the heater is indicated generally by the numeral Hi andreference may be had to the co-pending application of Henry J. De N.McCollum, Serial No. 61,213, filed January 28, 1936, for the structuralcharacteristics thereof wherein, briefly, a fan 12 and motor l4 draw theair into the fan compartment l6 of the heater shell l8 through theintake opening 20. The air thus drawn in is forced through the radiator22 in heat exchange relationship therewith and driven out into theinterior of the passenger compartment, through the downwardly openingbell-shaped outlet 24 as indicated by the arrows 26.

The heater as shown in Fig. 1 is mounted upon the dash 28 by suitablebolts 30 and the back of the heater is held a spaced distance fromthedash 28 by spacing sleeves 32 carried by the bolts 30 and locatedintermediate the main casting 34 of the heater I0 and the dash 28.

In the space provided between the casting and the dash, an air filteringcartridge 36 is removably mounted to cover completely the opening 20.The cartridge 36 is held in place by brackets 38 secured to the frame ofthe heater by bolts 40 immediately below the opening 20 and the outerends 42 of the brackets are turned upwardly and flared outwardly so thatthe cartridge 36 may be slipped readily into place and removed forreplacement when such is necessary.

The contour of at least one of the faces of the cartridge 36 follows thecontour of the opening 20 in approximately sealed relationship therewithwhen in place, so that the opening 20 is entirely covered by one side ofthe cartridge with the other sides exposed to atmosphere inside of thepassenger compartment. In this way any air drawn into the motorcompartment and forced into the passenger compartment must pass throughthe cartridge 36 and be filtered of obnoxious odors, poisonous gases andother foreign matter.

The cartridge 36 is made of angle members 44 and fabricated screening46, and is filled with activated carbon 48. The angle members 44 areformed and fashioned to define the shape of the cartridge with theincluded angle of each member facing inwardly so that the sides 52 ofthe angle members provide marginal abutments locating the pieces ofscreening 46 in position, which are held in place against the inside theassemblage.

A handle 54 is secured to the cartridge 36 so packed that the cartridgemay be easily managed when being inserted or removed from its positionon the brackets 38, and a cam latch 56 is provided upon the shell Hi toclamp the cartridge 36 in place against any rattling or loosening thatmight permit air to be drawn past the edges of the cartridge withoutbeing filtered.

The activated carbon employed is a refined type of charcoal whichabsorbs condensible gases from the air passing through the cartridge andmay have included with it granulated sodalime and potassium permanganateto react chemically with certain noxious gases liable to be present inthe air under certain conditions and in different localities. Whiledense varieties of charcoal such as those derived from fibrous shellsand fruit pits may be employed because of a greater efficiency, I havefound that a good grade of wood charcoal will sufiice and can be changedwithout great expense at regular intervals, depending upon apassenger-per-mile average which the owner of the vehicle can determinefor himself.

The fan motor as shownin said co-pending application is controlled foroperation by the handle 60 which opens a valve (not shown) .in theradiator 22 to start the flow of hot gases of combustion through theradiator and the heat thereof closes a thermostat switch 62 to start themotor [4. In addition to this simultaneous control of the heatcombustion and the motor an additional switch control 64 is provided inthe invention whereby the motor M can be turned on separately andindependently of the handle control 60'. In such instances it ispossible to run the motor at any time whether or not heat is beingproduced in the radiator so that the motor may serve as a circulatingand air purifying medium in summer time as well as in winter time.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, another embodiment of the invention isillustrated wherein fresh :air may be supplied to the passengercompartment with, or instead of recirculated air through the openings 20and 2| in the shell [8. A bell-shaped member 66; is provided whose mouth68 opens immediately behind the radiator in the cooling system of theautomobile. The mouth 68 is dis posed so as to be in the path of thethrust of the cooling fan 12 so that air may be driven into the mouth 68and forced under pressure through the flexible conduit 14 into the fancompartment from whence it is driven by the heater fan l2 into thepassenger compartment.

In this particular embodiment a dust filter screen 16 is placed over themouth 68 to remove heavy particles from theair and a filter cartridge 16is inserted in-the path of air leaving the dirt filter screen 16 toremove noxious gases and other condensible substances from the air inorder to purify it. Snaps 80 and We as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 areemployed to hold the cartridge 18 in place against inadvertentdislodgement or removal.

The cartridge 16 is inserted into place through an opening 82 providedin the top of the-belle shaped member 66 between vertical guides 84therein which receive and support the cartridge 16 in place. Thecartridge conforms in shape to the cross-sectional contour of the member66 in which it is placed, and while constructed preferably in'a mannerlike the cartridge 36 in Fig. 1, it may also be constructed of a gauzesack filled with the filtering media and slipped in place bepartment.

sembly in the member 66 instead of the cartridge.

The fresh air conduit 14 is provided with a butterfly valve 86 operatedmanually from the instrument panel 88 by a Bowden or flexible controlwire 98 so that the amount of fresh air furnished the heater may bevaried according to the desires of the occupants of the automobile. Inthis embodiment it will be appreciated that the fresh air supplycaneither be'the sole supply of air entering the motor compartment, ifdesired, or supplemental to the recirculated air so that the fancompartment I6 may be supplied with both filtered fresh air and filteredrecirculated air. The filter cartridge 36 shown in Fig. 3 issubstantially identical in construction and locathe road or in anyparticular locality.

With the fresh air entering the fan compartment I6 under pressure andthe recirculated air entering the compartment under suction, it isevident that the fresh air supply is able to dominate the recirculatedsupply of air when the butterfly valve 86 is open. Consequently,regulation of the butterfly valve in the fresh air conduit provides forany degree of mixture of recirculated and fresh air supplied to thepassenger com- In this way I have provided an improved heaterconstruction which filters the air supplied to the occupants of apassenger compartment and may be selectively controlled to supply anydegree of recirculated or fresh air. Moreover, the two supplies of airmay be filtered separately if desired and provided with filtering unitsto take care of the. obnoxious and poisonous conditions prevalent ineach of the air supplies, or each may serve without the other to providesufficient and properly filtered air to the passenger compartment inwinter and also in summer.

Consequently, although several embodiments of the invention have beenshown and described in the accompanying drawing, it is apparent to thoseskilled in the art' that various other and further uses, modificationsand changes may be made in the constructions as shown without departingfrom the spirit and substance of the invention, the scope of which iscommensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1.111 air purifying cartridge for a forced'circulation automobile heateror the like having a shell defining a compartment,with.an intake openingcomprising a metal frame following the sectional contour of said shellat said opening, said cartridge being exposed to the ingress of air onall but one of its surfaces, permeable fabricated members supported bysaid frame and opening comprising a metal frame of angle membersfollowing the sectional contour of said shell adjacent'said opening anddisposed with their included angles facing inwardly, permeable membersdisposed against said angle members and forming the sides of saidcartridge, said cartridge being exposed to the ingress of air on all butone of its surfaces, activated carbon filling said cartridge, and clampmeans cooperative with said shell for holding said cartridge in placeagainst inadvertent dislodgement.

3. An air conditioning apparatus for motor vehicles having a shelldefining a compartment, a heater in said compartment, a fan for causingcirculationof air through said compartment, said shell having an airintake opening at the top of the rear wall thereof and an air outlet atthe bottom of said rear wall, a filter cartridge mount ed to cover saidintake opening and conforming to the shape thereof, said cartridge beingexposed to the ingress of air on all of its surfaces except the surfacecovering said opening, brackets on the back of said shell for removablysupporting said cartridge over said intake opening, and a latch on saidshell for securely holding the cartridge on the brackets and in sealingrelation with the air intake opening of said heater.

ARDEN W. LE FEVRE.

